Before the Moment
by Brave-Phoenix
Summary: He refused. He wasn't about to let her go... until the last moment. MasaRina


_**Disclaimer: **I have none of the rights to Mermaid Melody. It belongs completely to Hanamori Pink-tachi. _

_**Note:** This is my first MM story; please be gentle! This is a, I think, little-recognized Mahou Shojou anime, and it's really good, even by my standards. I like all sorts of stuff, so considering that, they did incredibly well (grins). They didn't go overboard with the dramatics so much. But anywho, here's my first shot at a MasaRina. Give me credit; my first time working with characters usually turns out awful._

**Before the Moment**

_Kyuubi Tenshi_

It seemed that she was always sad. Like nightmares hidden within grey havens, fear and anger plagued her eyes. But he loved the times they would soften so sweetly.

Hamasaki Masahiro knew the moment he saw her that she needed him. After all, the first time he saw her, she was crying. But it was different now. He could see her strong side; he could see her sweet side. Was it possible to fall in love from only a few meetings? He was beginning to wonder. He'd never much believed in love at first sight.

But… Touin Rina was, unconsciously, slowly convincing him.

Eyes like silver mist, and hair like emerald, she was a beauty. Tall, thin without being skinny, and with a humorous personality if caught in the right times. But her eyes held a sadness that gave her more dimension than any girl he'd ever met.

"Hamasaki! Where do you want this?"

He pointed to the left corner of the school's rather large gymnasium, and the freshman moved to place the object there. The gym at his school was under renovation, and unusable, and both schools' talent shows were that night, and thus he now found himself at their neighbor school. _Her _school. She and her friends were the first three on the sign-up sheet, each one planning to sing. He'd heard her blonde friend, Luchia, saying that all three of them had singing as their natural talent. At first, Rina hadn't even wanted to enter, but he'd thought it funny what the two other girls did in response to that.

"_Rina… first prize is a silver Panasonic plasma screen."_

She'd immediately turned around and written her name on the list. He'd had to stifle a laugh, and almost hadn't succeeded. Later, he'd taken a look at the list, to see what the three of them had written down.

_Nanami Luchia; singing "Splash Dream"_

_Hoshou Hanon; singing "Ever Blue"_

_Touin Rina; singing "Before the Moment"_

He'd wondered at it; he'd never heard of any of those songs before, and he was fairly fond of music. But now, they were making only a few last-minute adjustments to the settings. The program would start earlier than customary, since they would have twice as many students participating than usual. And when he'd arranged the list, he'd made sure to save _her_ for last. Save the best for last they always say, right?

But he was really very curious as to how she sounded.

Later that night, one by one, the performers came and went, some good, some bad, some _horrible_. He had to admit; both Luchia and Hanon could sing quite well. But more often than not, his eyes would roam to where Rina was waiting her turn. A couple of times he noticed her fidgeting, but she would stop when she caught herself. Her mist-grey eyes focused on the stage, unwavering even when the talent was overly embarrassing or badly executed. Her composure was amazing, that much was for sure.

"Final contestant: Touin Rina, singing _Before the Moment_!"

He quickly disappeared into the shadows, so as not to make her nervous, if seeing him would do so, but she stepped onto the stage with all the grace that he had known she possessed. A long, layered green dress flowed about her, sweeping against the floor, and her hair was pulled into a very loose ponytail, it's lengthy strands dancing about her face and shoulders as she moved. She bowed to the audience, and waited for them to play the music.

_Ai yori fukai omoi_

_Nanatsu no umi de umareta_

_"Saigo no negai" ga donna ni_

_Ookikute mo watashi wa makenai_

The opening stanza was beautiful, and had a driving feeling to it; it was like danger coming, and a light of hope all at once. Her voice was low and rich; it was perfect for her, he thought unconsciously, watching as she moved to the music just a bit. She seemed to shine beneath the stage's spotlights, a light brighter and purer; unearthly beauty, he was sure.

_Daijoubu. Machigatte nai._

_Kimi ni mukau omoi wa honmono._

He could've sworn she looked at him out of the corner of her eye as she sang a last few bars to the audience.

_Don't worry… I'm not mistaken; facing towards you, these feelings of mine are true._

That's what it meant. What she'd said when she looked at him. His eyes widened, and he wondered at it. Again, she bowed as applause erupted, and when she retreated from the stage, she cast him another sidelong glance on her way to the girls' change room, her eyes remaining on him until she closed the door behind her.

* * *

"Dou? Did you like it, Masahiro?"

He startled, nearly spilling the drink in his hand. Rina laughed as she came around to stand in front of him, grey eyes smiling at him. He examined those eyes for a minute, looking for any sign of the sadness that usually lurked therein, but found none, and was satisfied. He smiled brightly, if not a bit sheepish.

"Very much so, Rina-chan. You're a shoe-in for that TV you wanted."

She blushed brightly and turned away to pour herself a drink. And of course, come to find out later, the teen was right. She _did _win that TV. Luchia and Hanon won second and third places, respectively. The midori mermaid knew she'd never hear the end of that one.

"Your apartment… it's a bit far from here, isn't it?" She startled. She'd been crossing the parking lot, and there to her left, the elder boy was perched on his motorcycle, keys in-hand. "C'mon; it's late. I'll give you a lift."

He tossed her his extra helmet, and she put it on, climbing up behind him. The drive wasn't all that far, really. She guessed that he just didn't want her wandering around so late. But when he stopped in front of her building, he… actually _parked_. He intended on walking her straight to her door. But she didn't object. She was thankful.

"Rina-chan… Your song was beautiful." A glance wandered his way as they walked up the steps. "I only heard you sing like that once before… I could definitely get used to it."

"Don't." The statement was flat, and her glance cast away. She stepped up to her door, only to be pulled away from it, and embraced against him tightly. "Masahiro…"

"I'm not letting you go… until I have to, Rina. Not a moment before."

Startled silver eyes met his as she turned in his embrace. There was no sweet smile on his face, nor playful glint in his eye. It was sadness, all of it. His expression had fallen completely.

"And… before that moment… I just need you to know…"

He cut himself off with a longing kiss pressed to her lips. The arms that had wrapped around her so tightly loosened for her to turn around completely, but once again engulfed her, warming her against the chill October air. Her fingers clung to his jacket, and she trembled beneath the force of his lips on hers. Slowly, he drew away, his breath still fanning her face softly, and hovered their faces closely.

"Masahiro…" but the Green mermaid princess was silenced by an ever-sweeter kiss. Their eyes met again, and though she was confused, sadness still run clear on those evergreen depths that belonged only to him.

"I know… that you will leave one day. I assume that it is to a place an fate that I'm not allowed also. But before that moment… I'll never let you go…"

* * *

**AN: Gyeck, I hate this piece. It turned out stupid. But things usually go haywire when I work with new characters. I'm more of a Naruto person; I can write some really good Naruto stuff. (_grins_) Naruto and some Ouran, a few others here and there... my other account has a Chibi Vampire Karin fic posted on it. Ma, ii ka. Please Review!**


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